The Decision
by fmfan1980
Summary: After watching the first two episodes of Buffy Season 6, I saw that it was out of character for Tara to so easily agree to help Willow bring back Buffy from the dead. This was especially true after the speech to Dawn about respecting the cycle of life and death. Here's what I thought could have happened if things had gone differently.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, locations or plots from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This is just a work of fiction which has only been able to come into being because of the universe that Mr. Whedon's created.

 **Tara's dorm room, UC Sunnydale Campus.**

Tara couldn't sleep. She stared up at the ceiling of her studio apartment close to the UC Sunnydale campus while the cool air from the air conditioner gently brushed her shoulders and face. It had been nearly four months since Buffy died after jumping into the portal that opened under the tower Glory's mentally drained minions- other humans- built in a junk yard. It was that day that Dawn was cut by the creature known as Doc, one of the mad Hellgod's disciples, and it was the blood of Dawn, the Key in human form, that opened the portal to every single hell dimension. The very same portal that Buffy jumped into so that the portal could be shut down.

And it did shut down thanks to Buffy's sacrifice. 'We buried her, we mourned her, and… and then Willow had to…' Tara closed her eyes at the taught of the woman she loved. Opening her eyes back up again, they were glistening with tears as she thought about the months after Buffy's death- moving out of the dorms and into the Summers home so that she and Willow could look after Dawn, making sure that Dawn was able to mourn properly while, at the same time, helping the younger Summers get on with her life.

But with the plan Willow had come up with a month ago, Tara couldn't stay in the redhead's vicinity. Tara told herself that she loved Willow, but at the same time she was very aware of how the redhead had overtaken her as a user of magic. It was something that Tara didn't think much off in the first place, she was with Willow and that was all that mattered.

'Willow knows how to differ between right and wrong,' that was the thought going through Tara's mind ever since she first met the redhead and sensed her power. 'She saved my life… she brought me back my mind after Glory stole it. She and I saved ourselves from the ones that stole our voices'. Tara thought of ll the other times that Willow used her powers for the good of others…. To help others, 'and she's done that for the most part. And I'm proud of her for that. For being a protector of those who needed it.' Tara was very aware of how Willow had seen her, as someone who needed to be protected, and for the most part the blonde liked the feeling of having someone watching over her.

Then the cracks started to appear, 'she used magic for personal use- to do her chores, or to do anything that she could have done with her own two hands'. Tara then sighed before thinking to herself that she did understand why Willow would want to use her powers, 'she's relatively new to using magic. And she wanted to help Buffy- I know I wanted to help her as much as possible too.'

But Buffy was dead now. The Buffy bot was the Slayer now with Faith imprisoned and the rest of the Scoobies, even Giles, refusing to go to the Council and ask for a reprieve for her. Tara understood their mistrust of the dark haired Slayer and pushed her own need to convince the others to at least ask the Council for help to one side. 'While we were using the Buffybot, Willow was using her magic as well' Tara then shook her head, 'but that was to help the Buffybot and us when we went out to patrol.' Tara sighed, 'but what she wants to do now? What she's thinking about doing?'

Tara told herself, as she closed her eyes to try and drift away into an uneasy sleep, that she was right in having a break from Willow. Tara hoped Willow, at the last moment, would see that she didn't approve of the plan and that the redhead would put a stop to it on her own. Tara's mind went back to the events of two weeks ago.

 **The Summers family home, two weeks ago.**

It had been three months since Buffy's death that Willow brought up an idea when Dawn was at school, Giles was working at the Magic Box, and she and Tara were in the kitchen with Xander and Anya. It was an idea that Tara vehemently disagreed with since it meant going up against the natural order of life and death.

"No," Tara said whilst she stood at the kitchen island, she felt blood rushing away from her face and wondered if she looked paler than she usually did while repeating Willow's plan in her mind, "no."

"No?" Willow, stunned, asked while Xander and Anya looked at each other and then away. Willow then turned to Xander and Anya and explained that the plan she had would work, "I just need a few ingredients and some ritualistic items like the Urn of Osiris, and…"

"Willow," Tara interrupted as the redhead turned to her girlfriend shaking her head, "you know we can't use our powers to…"

"I know, I know," Willow waved off Tara's concerns while a reassuring smile played on her face, "but Buffy didn't die a natural death. It was a mystical one. The ritual I found works on those who died by mystical means."

"It's still bringing back the dead," Tara shook her head. There was a part of her that was proud of Willow for even thinking about searching for a spell, but the other part of herself was terrified at the thought of what kind of magic Willow may have to use. She knew that bringing back the dead was something that required vast amounts of magic- very powerful magic that could very well make Willow feel as if she could do anything, damn the consequences. 'And what will be the consequence of this? What is the consequence of using so much magic to bring Buffy back from the dead?'

"Xander," Willow whined, ignoring the concerned expression on Tara's face and looking back at her best friend who stood across from her at the other end of the island in the kitchen, "we need Buffy. You know that. The Buffybot can only do so much and… and…" Willow closed her eyes shaking her head before looking at Xander, Anya, Tara, and then back at Xander once again, "Buffy's in a hell dimension right now suffering eternal torment, we need to get her out. We need Buffy. The real Buffy. We need to get her out."

Willow could see Tara looking away from her and down at the table top while biting down on her lower lip. She didn't know why Tara was against Buffy coming back, sure she was dead… but she was dead by mystical means which meant she could be brought back by mystical means. Willow then shifted her eyes back to Xander and continued, "the portal was open when Buffy jumped in, and the portal led to any number of hell dimensions. Buffy's soul could be in any one of them suffering as we speak."

"That is true," Anya nodded her head. Tara looked up at Anya, as did Xander, "any hell dimension isn't good for someone like Buffy who's been fighting to stop... you know... demons from taking over this realm." Anya then turned to the passive expression on Tara's face and added with a wave of her hands, "and she's most likely in Hell."

"How long has she been in there for?" Xander whispered looking back down at the table. He didn't want to think of Buffy being in Hell but, at the same time, he shared Tara's dobts. However, he also agreed with Willow's logic that the portal opened the Hell dimensions to the Erth realm and so Buffy was somewhere in Hell. He looked back up at Willow shake her head before saying that Buffy could have been trapped for years instead of five months

"Years more likely," Anya spoke before Willow could add anything else, "she could…."

"What if she's in heaven?" Tara spoke looking at Willow who narrowed her eyes at the blonde witch as if the former spoke an alien language, "what if Buffy's soul is in Heaven right now?" Tara then turned to Anya, "just like there are many hell dimensions, there are many heavenly dimensions, right?"

"Yes," Anya replied nodding her head, "but the portal that opened led to the hell dimensions. And…"

"Buffy saved the world," Tara said staring at Willow, and then at Anya, and then at Xander, "all of you know she saved the world. She saved the world even before I met her," Tara then motioned at Willow and Xander, "and when the three of you were in High School, and…"

"I was in high school too," Anya innocently added.

"Except you ran away when we faced the Mayor, and…" Willow frowned at Anya who narrowed her eyes at the redhead. The two of them were about to say something about the other when Tara interrupted them.

"My point is that the three of you and Mr. Giles saved the world many times over," the blonde witch said, her hands gripping tight onto the edge of the island, "so tell me why she didn't earn a place in heaven?" Tara stopped talking and stared at the expressions on each of the faces around her before continuing, "she could be in…"

"She could be," Willow added looking towards Xander for support, "Xander, Anya, she could be in heaven. But its far more likely she's in hell…. The portal led to every hell in existence. That's where Buffy is… she is suffering in hell as we speak and… and I want her back."

"I want her back too, Will," Xander said softly as the two old friends looked at each other, "but what if Tara's right? What if she's in heaven? I.. I'm not saying she is in heaven…. But…"

"We don't have the right to tear her away from heaven," Tara said, her hands on the island as she gripped the edges, "there is no where to know where she is, I…"

"So you would rather leave her to be tortured in Hell?" Willow whispered with a look of anguish at Tara while the others looked at the top of the island nervously, "is that what you're saying?"

"I'm saying she could be in either heaven or Hell," Tara shook her head as she tried to clarify. She could feel the tense atmosphere is the kitchen hardening while Willow's powers seemed to rise. Tara could feel the familiar electricity from Willow's magic as she stared into the redhead's green eyes, 'your magic is tied to your emotions, Willow. One day, if you're not careful, you will hurt someone.' Tara took in a deep breath before saying, "you're right, she could be in Hell. She could be suffering there for all eternity and that knowledge will torture me until the day I die."

"Then we're agreed that we need to bring Buffy back," Willow added while Tara frowned at the interruption. Willow turned to Anya, and was about to say something while Xander stared mournfully at Tara, when the blonde witch spoke out once again.

"I'm not finished, Willow," Tara exclaimed. Willow and Anya looked back at the young woman while Xander seemed to take a small step back, "it will hurt me even more if we tear Buffy away from heaven."

"Is there a way to find out where she is, Anya?" Xander asked while Tara and Willow stared at each other before they stared at him, and then at Anya. The latter shook her head before saying there was no way to know.

"We're bringing her back," Willow said with a look of confidence, "I know I will bring her back." Willow was looking at each of the group before laying her eyes back on Tara, "I… I know it's a risk. But… but I know I can do it. I know I have to." Willow's bottom lip then trembled before saying, "she's in Hell. I can feel it."

Tara then looked who Anya who looked away from her and whispered, "we need a Slayer." Tara frowned and then turned to Xander who still looked unsure.

"Xander," Tara whispered, "this is madness. We're…" she stopped talking upon seeing anguish take over his face. Tara sighed and then shook her head, "when Dawn wanted to raised Joyce from the dead, Willow and I told her that those spells were forbidden. They were forbidden because they were dangerous. Life and death is part of the natural cycle and we can't interfere with that." Tara then turned to Xander, "I know you want Joyce back. I know I want her back, I know that Willow wants her back, I know that Dawn and Anya want her back too." Tara then turned to Willow with a pleading look on her face, "but Joyce is dead. We have the power to bring her back, but we respected the cycle of life and death. It's the same thing with Buffy."

"Buffy's death was mystical," Willow pointed out staring at Tara, "and I am bringing her back."

"She's dead," Tara exclaimed as Anya took a step back from the island as well, "you're trying to play with…"

"I know exactly what I'm doing Tara," Willow exclaimed with a raised voice, "I know I have the power to bring her back. I…" Willow closed her eyes and shook her head, "I can do this. I have to do this. She's in Hell, Tara. I feel it in my soul. I feel her calling to me for help. I have to bring her back. Will you help me?"

"You're playing with life and death," Tara said staring at Willow, "I…. I can't… I…"

"Xander?" Willow said in a stunned voice as she looked down at the island, "will you be with me when I do this? The spell needs at least three people including the caster."

"Don't do this, Willow," Tara said almost begging, "if you… if you do this then I can't be here. You're breaking the cycle and… and I can't be here to…"

"Then you can't be here," Willow whispered looking away from Tara as she tried to hide her sadness. However, Tara could feel a sliver of anger growing within Willow amongst the sadness, and she shook her head before looking at Xander.

"We need to at least try, Tara."

Tara then looked at Anya who looked away with her arms around her chest, "Anya?" Anya looked back at Tara, and then at Xander who once again said that they needed Buffy, that the world needed Buffy.

Anya then looked back at Tara with eyes that were full of understanding and sorrow, for she knew the effect it would have on Tara. She agreed with Tara that this, what Willow was planning, would mean bringing back the dead. At the same time, she told herself that Buffy was important… that they needed her back. She thought to herself that perhaps Buffy dying a mystical death was the loophole- that she could only be brought back without any negative backlash through mystical means, "we should try, Tara."

"Then I can't be here," Tara whispered at Willow who stared back at her, "I cannot be a party to something that I am against. You have no idea that the person we are getting back is the Buffy we know, you don't know if she is in heaven or hell and if its Heaven then we've… no… you pulled her out of someplace she deserves to be in- a place she earned.: Tara then straightened her back and stamped her foot down, "you want me to stay with you, Willow, then stop this. None of us have the right to…"

"I'm bringing her back!" Willow yelled at Tara who slightly flinched, "she never deserved to die! She deserves to be here! She deserves to be fighting the good fight! And I know she's yelling out at me to save her from eternal torture!"

"Lets all calm down a little," Xander said with his hands up as he looked at both a stunned Tara and an angry Willow.

At Xander's words, Willow's expression eased and she looked back down, "I need to do this Tara. With or without you, I need this."

"Then… then we need a break from each other," Tara whispered as Willow looked back up with eyes wide open in surprise, with Anya and Xander having the same expressions on their faces. "I love you, but what you're doing is… is something that I…" Tara then sighed while keeping her tears back as much as possible. But Tara was unsuccessful since she could feel her tears welling up, "I can't.. I…" Tara knew she was going to cry. She knew that she would want to run into the arms of her lover and say that she would stay, that she didn't mean anything she said. Tara knew, if everything played as it usually did between them, she would eventually support Willow.

'But I don't,' Tara thought to herself while feeling her body tremble with a need to run to Willow, 'how can I support this when it goes against everything I believe?' Tara forced herself to shake her head before she stepped back from the island. The need to run to Willow was so strong now, 'but I have to make a stand. She'll come to me… if she loves me as much as I think she does once I leave, she will know she's making a mistake. She'll come to me and decide not to go through with it, that we will continue the fight in Buffy's memory.'

"I.. I can't," Tara shook her head at Willow, "I can' t be a part of this." And then Tara walked out of the Summers home.

 **Now, two weeks later.**

Tara turned to her side as she opened her eyes once again. She couldn't sleep at all… she hadn't slept well after the day she left. And Willow never came to her. Tara wanted to go to her girlfriend, but it took everything she had to stop herself from running back. Even with her things back at the Summers home, Tara still had some clothes in her dorm room where she stayed.

But Willow never came.

For the next two weeks after that meeting in the kitchen, Willow never came back to the dorm room. And with Willow ignoring her, Tara felt lower than she ever did after her mother died. Dawn came by the dorm room and knocked on the door, but Tara couldn't answer. There was a sharp pain in her chest when she thought about telling Dawn what Willow was planning. She would be so happy', but then Tara imagined the reaction when she told Dawn that it was wrong to bring Buffy back. 'She would hate me.'

Tara even thought about telling Giles about Willow's plan when he came calling, knocking on her door, asking if she was in her room, 'would he support me or Willow? I know he's worried about Willow as well, but this is about bringing back his Slayer. The daughter he never had. Would he hate me too if I tell him that it's wrong to bring her back?'

It was just then that she felt a tingling sensation go up and down her spine. She knew what happened…. She knew what that feeling was. 'Willow did it.'

And Tara feared for what would happen next. They broke the natural cycle, and there was always a price to pay for that arrogance.

 **TBC.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Buffy's grave, now.**

'No' Willow thought to herself as she stared at the grass covered ground in front of Buffy's tombstone while on her knees. She was panting as she leaned forward, her arms reaching out down onto the wet grass as the kneeling figure to her left got to his feet and quickly rushed for her. She felt Xander's arms around her… steadying her while hearing sniffles to her right. Willow glanced at Anya holding onto a tearful Dawn who was staring at the ground. Willow told Dawn about her plan after going through the books one more time, it wasn't three people she needed in total. Instead, she needed three people along with herself for the ritual to work… and Willow knew that Giles would say no. So, Willow told Dawn about it, even though Xander and Anya both expressly forbade it. The two wanted to try and convince Tar to be the third person, but Willow refused.

"I want to show her that I can do it without her help," Willow had said. She was angry at Tara, and at the same time she wanted to show Tara that anything was possible. She wanted to show Tara that he dead could be brought to life… Willow wanted to show she was powerful enough to bring someone back from Hell.

In the end, Xander and Anya may have been against Dawn being a part of their group… but they still didn't tell Tara or Giles. And that gave Willow the confidence boost she needed. Even Dawn was convinced not to tell Tara and Giles, with Willow telling the younger Summers that Tara was against bringing Buffy back because she didn't have confidence in the redhead's abilities.

Hearing that, Dawn was angry at Tara for a few days… but it was Xander who convinced Dawn that Tara had her reasons; and she followed her conscience. Xander and Anya, while Willow was collecting the materials needed for the ritual, explained to Dawn why it was that they could bring Buffy back… but not Joyce. In the end, Dawn's anger towards Tara subsided somewhat, but she still didn't talk to her for the next few days.

Then, after the seventh day, Tara and Dawn went out for their movie day- complete with milkshakes and popcorn. The two of them laughed and talked about what was happening in their lives. Tara told her that she and Willow had an argument about something important to the both of them, and that she hoped Willow would come to her senses. Dawn wanted to tell Tara that Willow was doing the right thing, and that it was Tara who was in the wrong… Dawn was getting Buffy back from Hell, and that was the only thing that mattered.

But Dawn kept quiet, keeping her anger inside. She had faith in Willow. And Willow remembered Dawn telling her what Tara had said, and it boosted her confidence even more. The redhead told herself that she succeed, and Tara will come back to her; that the latter would praise her, 'and Tara will say she was wrong. And then I'll tell her that she was the one always by my side in spirit. And then we'll make up and forget this ever happened. We'll have Buffy back and… and everything will be like it was supposed to be.'

The spell was supposed to have worked. She had all the requisite items for the ritual, the correct spell, she even had a large python slither out of her mouth. But Willow was still staring at the grassy mound over Buffy's grave. She was thinking about how Tara would now give her a piece of her mind before saying that she was right, and that Willow was wrong. The redhead could already see Tara walking away from her because of this fiasco, she could see Dawn hating her, she could see Anya and Xander telling her that they should have put a stop to this the moment Dawn was brought in as the fourth person for the spell.

'And Tara already made her feelings known to me,' Willow mentally told herself as she stared at Dawn whose eyes shifted back towards her. They were staring at each other as the brunette whispered, her voice cracking.

"You promised, Willow," Dawn said as tears travelled down her cheeks while Anya, to what seemed like to Willow to be very unusual for the former vengeance demon, hugged Dawn tightly as the littlest Summers yelled out, "YOU PROMISED ME!"

'I… I can make her forget this…. I can make everyone forget about what happened, and…'

"Will," Xander spoke looking at the ground while holding her steady, "where's Buffy supposed to come back to life?"

"I…." Willow said before she closed her eyes, "I failed Xand… I…"

"Is her body supposed to be here? Or in her coffin?" Xander spoke with fear in his voice before he rushed to the grave and grabbed the dirt and grass, and then pulled with his bare hands, "no… no…. no… God forgive us…. Help me!"

Anya, Willow, and Dawn saw Xander frantically pulling the grass and then the dirt with his bare hands, "help me! She's inside! If the spell worked, then she's buried alive in there!"

'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid, Willow!' Willow thought to herself as she got to her feet and told everyone to get behind her, "Now! Get behind me!" After Anya and Dawn rose to their feet, they pulled the frantic Xander away to the left side of the grave, and then behind Willow who raised both her arms. She then whispered, "just hold on, Buff…. Just one minute."

And Willow closed her eyes and rolled her hands into fists. And then she whispered a spell before the ground beneath her began to quake.

 **Tara's dorm room, at that same time.**

"She did it," Tara thought sitting up on her bed and shaking her head. She felt the power released by Willow's spell, power that rushed through her like a wave, signalling a return to life of someone that was once dead. And in the back of her mind, Tara wondered what was the price that would have to be paid for such arrogance. 'You did it Willow, you used the spell. Did you get Buffy back? If you did, where did you take her from? Heaven or Hell?' Tara turned around on her bed and placed her feet on the floor. She then quickly got off the soft mattress while asking herself, "who did Willow convince to become the third person for the spell?'

'She said there needed to be three people for the spell,' Tara thought to herself as she rushed to the closet and pulled the doors open, 'did she mean two people plus her? Or there needed to be another three along with her?' Tara realized that she was so angry and disappointed at Willow when they last spoke that the blonde forgot to seek some kind of a clarification.

"So, who was the third person?" Tara wondered aloud before she slipped on a pair of jeans over her bright orange shorts. She wondered if it was Giles- the man had come knocking on her door saying that he was thinking about heading back home to England since he had nothing left in Sunnydale. Upon hearing that two days ago, Tara finally opened the door to her room after Giles had been trying for more than a week. Tara wanted to tell Giles then about Willow's plan, but she thought the better of it since she believed that Giles would hate her for refusing to help in returning Buffy back to life. Instead, she convinced him that the Scoobies needed him now more than ever.

"All of us need you, Giles," she sat side by side with him at the edge of her bed, "Buffy may be gone but… but we still need you."

"I'm supposed to be a Watcher and my duty…"

"Be our Watcher," Tara said turning her head towards the older man, "I… I need you to be a Watcher for.. I mean I know that I'm not a Slayer… I know that Willow's not a Slayer… so…" Tara then smiled a little before continuing, "maybe you could be our Watcher? Make sure that we're using magic the right way and… and I mean…"

"Tara," Giles had gently said, "you and Willow are both far beyond me, I don't know what I can teach you."

"A lot," Tara said nodding her head vigorously while thinking, 'maybe you can talk to Willow. She's going to do something stupid and….' Then Tara's mind started to come up with the only scenario she knew. In her mind, she saw Giles' dace become angry upon telling him that she disagreed with Willow's idea about bringing Buffy back. In her imagination, Tara saw Giles getting up in anger before telling Tara that he wanted Buffy returned to him. 'I can't tell him' Tara knew in her heart. And so, she didn't, instead, she asked him to help her and Willow in controlling magic while patrolling with the Buffybot.

Eventually, after some more convincing, Giles decided to stay and help the Buffybot become as good a Slayer as the human Buffy- except he was going to convince it to not say anymore puns. It would be, unknown to Tara, because of his presence that a vampire that slammed the Buffybot into the side of a building was dusted by Giles before he could see the electronics at the side of its head. And it would be Giles who would take the Buffybot back to Willow for repair… that that was what happened last night according to Giles who spoke to Tara when the latter visited the Magic Box.

Tara reached for the door lever on the left side of the door and pushed it down. She then swung the door open before closing it and walking down the hallway. She heard the electronics in the door's card reader make a whirling sound before there was a click, indicating that he door was now locked. Once she reached the stairs at the end of the hallway, Tara walked down the steps to the ground floor before walking out the lobby and out to the University of Sunnydale campus. As she headed for the bus stop, Tara thought about what it meant for Buffy to be back.

'Will she be happy?' Tara thought to herself as she passed by a few students walking the opposite direction, 'if she's happy, then maybe she was in Hell and… and I'll apologize to her.' Then Tara wondered if that would be a bad idea, 'what am I going to tell Buffy? _"Sorry I wish you were still in Hell?"_ or should I tell her, _"I'm a bad friend because I wish you were still in Hell because you're not supposed to be here"_ ,' Tara then sighed, 'there's nothing I say that can sound… apologetic… without sounding like I hate her'.

And then there was Willow. Tara knew if she told the redhead she did a good job, then that would be telling the redhead that she approved of the idea in the first place, 'or she'd think I accept her trying to play God.' Tara shook her head, 'she unleased a lot of power… I felt it. I also felt Buffy's spirit returning to her body. But that power… wielding such powerful magic may get into Willow's head.'

Tara didn't know what to do as she continued walking, 'she's getting more powerful than me, and… and that frightens me.' Tara pressed her lips together into a frown, 'I'm not jealous of her… actually I'm proud that she's getting more powerful, but she's also…' Tara eyed the sheltered bus-stop in the distance, 'she's too eager to… no, being eager is good.' Tara's heart was beating hard as she thought about Willow and the argument they had about bringing Buffy back, 'she pushed my fears and thoughts aside, she pushed aside any thoughts that Xander and Anya had about why they shouldn't do the spell…' Tara rubbed the back of her head while thinking, 'maybe it's just me. Momma trained me in magic, and I keep trying to stick to the rules she laid out.'

"Maybe that's the problem," Tara whispered, "I still to the rules." Tara suspected that was why her magical abilities stagnated and Willow was continuing to rise, 'Willow bent the rules. Should I have agreed with Willow? Should I have helped bring Buffy back? Was I just afraid to take the risk?'

Taking a seat next to a young man kissing a young lady, Tara turned her head to the left and watched for the bus she needed to take to get to Main. Tara could still hear the sound of the two kissing passionately while she thought back, 'no, I was right. I had to stand up for the principles that Momma put into me. I had to stand up. I love Buffy, and I don't want to see her suffer in Hell, but I still believe she was in heaven. She saved the world so many times from evil… of course she would have to be in heaven.'

Tara shook her head and thought to herself, 'wherever she was, I'm glad she's back. I don't know where she's going to be, I'm guessing either the Magic Box or back home. I'm pretty sure that Dawn and Spike are going to be surprised either way. Maybe I'll go up to the Magic Box, get Giles mentally ready.'

Tara then sighed and glanced at the passionately kissing couple who looked as if they were about to consummate right then and there, 'oh goddess,' Tara looked away, 'please send me my bus.'

TBC.


	3. Chapter 3

It would be after five agonizing minutes of Tara trying her very best to ignore the two horny teens as they kissed each other that the bus arrived at the stop. Once the bus's front doors opened, Tara heard giggling from the girl behind her, while the young man whispered something about having 'seconds on the bus'. She mentally groaned as she walked up the stairs and sat somewhere in the front of the bus while the loving couple stumbled their way towards the back. Tara sat down as they went past her – a part of the blonde witch couldn't help feeling that the couple were like her and Willow; young and in love.

Taking a deep breath, Tara leaned back on the seat while turning her head towards the window to her left. She watched buildings and lampposts go by as the bus continued on its way towards the city.

'Willow,' Tara thought to herself as her eyes focused on her own reflection, 'I don't know what to tell you. I don't know how to feel about this. On one hand, I'll be happy to see Buffy alive and well. I know Giles will be happy too. I know Dawn and Spike will be happy too.' Tara closed her eyes and concentrated on the sound from the bus's engine while continuing to think, 'I know I've been thinking about this too much, but I can't think that this is still wrong.' Tara opened her eyes once again and turned her head forward, now she was staring out of the large windscreen in front of her as the bus drove past several cars, 'even though Buffy's death was mystical, we don't know what the cost of bringing her back will be.' Tara pressed her lips together, 'what will we pay for bringing Buffy back to us?'

Tara was worried. She wondered if Buffy retuning to life could have an effect on the Slayer line, 'Mr Giles told me about it, how the Slayers powers transfers to someone else after their death.' Tara tuned her head back to the window to her left and stared at her reflection, 'Buffy died and her power was transferred to Kendra; and then Kendra died and her power was transferred to Faith.' Tara mentally told herself that the transfer of power mystically was linear, one Slayer after another, 'one at a time'.

Then Buffy was revived after her first death.

'Did that have anything unusual happen to her?' Tara thought to herself. It was something that she didn't think about asking Giles. When she first met Willow, it was as if the two of them had a connection with each other; and then after a few weeks, she met Buffy and the others. And while it took some time for everyone else to get used to her quirks, Tara made more friends than she had her whole life. Then Tara learned that Buffy was a Slayer, and it made her want to help her, Willow, and the rest of the Scoobies fight the darkness every night.

And the excitement of it all didn't fade. It still hasn't faded away. Except now, after Buffy's return and what it potentially meant, Tara was a bit more contemplative about questions that she should have asked about Slayers.

'Could Buffy's first revival from death have affected whatever mystical force it was that transferred power from one Slayer to another?' Tara thought as her body jolted side to side when the bus drove over a pothole in the read. She looked out the first windscreen and saw that she was about to enter the downtown area while still thinking to herself, 'this time Buffy died for months. Her soul… whether it was sent to a Hell dimension or a Heaven dimension… was gone for months. So, what does that do to this mystical force when a soul of a Slayer is pulled back into the body? What do we expect? Will Buffy be the same Buffy? Will she have a tainted soul that changes her completely? Or did we unleash something that we can't even contemplate? Or does Buffy even have a soul?'

The bus nearly reached her stop in front of the Espresso Pump. Tara got up off her seat after signalling for the driver to stop. She looked out the windows at the lights of the Magic Box a few meters away from the Espresso Pump as the door to the Magic Box opened as someone entered – a man with a black overcoat and bleached blonde hair.

'Spike,' Tara thought as the bus came to a stop. She stepped out of her seat and walked towards the exit in the middle of the bus, on the way she rolled her eyes at the kissing couple in the back. After she stepped out of the bus, her feet now planted firmly on the pavement, the doors behind her hissed shut and the bus was driven away. Steeling herself as she walked past patrons who were heading in the opposite direction towards the entrance of the Espresso Pump, Tara focused on the reactions of both Giles and Spike when she'll have to tell them about Willow's plan.

And Buffy's return.

 **Magic Box, a few seconds ago.**

Giles was cashing out the latest customer before packing the Resting Buddha statue that was purchased by the customer, he then bagged it, and handed it off to the customer who then thanked him before leaving the shop just as a city bus drove past the large front window. With the front door swinging closed, Giles looked back out at the now empty store before turning around and walking into his back office. But just as he stepped past the threshold, Giles heard the bell over the door jingle.

"Welcome to the…." Turning around, the smile on Giles' face vanished as he set his eyes on the bleached vampire walking towards him with a scowl on his face. Sighing as he wondered what the Vampire wanted, Giles curtly said, "Spike." Giles nodded his head while Spike shrugged after he stopped once he reached the counter. The vampire's hands were in his pocket while Giles asked, in a tone that screamed out 'why are you here', "What do you want?"

"Have you seen Dawn anywhere?" Spike asked. And Giles narrowed his eyes at the vampire. He was well aware of the promise Spike made to Buffy, that if anything were to happen to her, then Spike was to protect Dawn at all costs. Giles looked up at the clock on the wall across from him hanging above a shelf and then turned back towards Spike.

"Did you check her house? She should be with Willow," Giles asked, and was surprised when Spike said that he did but there was no one at home. Giles narrowed his eyes before saying, "she knows that she's not supposed to go anywhere alone after six. If she's not here, or at her house, then I presume that she's with Willow. Perhaps they went out to dinner. Have you checked Xander and Anya's apartment?"

"I did, after I checked out Buffy's house," Spike said with a scowl on his face, "I don't like this."

"She's probably gone out for dinner with Willow and the others," Giles reiterated, after all, he thought to himself, where else would she go to if she was not at home and at the Magic Box. 'There is one more place,' Giles mentally corrected himself before he asked Spike if he had checked in with Tara.

"You think Dawn and Willow went to check up on Tara?" Spike asked. He knew that for the past two weeks both Tara and Willow had a strained relationship. It was pretty obvious to him since he hadn't seen Willow and Tara joined at the hip as they usually were, and that when he mentioned Tara being missing to Willow… the redhead simply looked away and spoke calmly that the two of them had a disagreement about something in their relationship, and that they were fixing it. After she said that, Spike noticed shared looks between Xander and Anya – he felt as if there was something akin to regret in those looks between the couple while Willow stared back at him with calm anger. But he couldn't figure out why. However, he didn't push further, and he didn't go to U.C. Sunnydale to talk to Tara.

It wasn't his business and it didn't affect him.

But now, when Dawn was concerned, it was his business. He swore to Buffy that if she died against Glory, then he would protect her little sister. And now, the younger Summers sister had gone missing and he felt worried… there was something in his gut telling him that she was in danger. Which was why he frantically rushed for the empty Summers house to Xander's Apartment. He even called Tara to ensure that Dawn was with the blonde witch, but there was no answer from her room.

"Then perhaps Tara went for dinner with…" Before Giles could finish, the man heard the chime of the doorbell. His eyes shifted to the blonde teen who walked in and a smile formed on his lips, "Tara, speak of the devil."

"Mr. Giles, Spike," Tara replied as Spike turned around and narrowed his eyes at the blonde. Tara noticed this and asked if everything was alright. Tara honestly didn't know what she expected to hear from Spike and Giles, but she never expected Spike to say that Dawn was missing and if she was with her. Tara narrowed her eyes, and shook her head, "she's not with me, I haven't…" Tara then stepped back eyes wide open, a look of shock painted her face, "how… how long? How long have you been searching? Spike? How long have you been searching?"

"About thirty minutes, give or take," Spike said, his eye narrowing while Tara's eyes widened before she shook her head. He and Giles watched her rush to the table in the middle of the store before taking a seat.

"Tara?" Giles asked as he and Spike walked towards her, "Tara, what is it? Do you know where Dawn is right now?"

"I.. I think I may…" Tara whispered, her voice etched with disbelief before whispering to herself, "they couldn't have. Not with her… not…"

"Tara," Giles said sitting next to her, "what's going on?"

Tara looked up, her eyes now focused on Giles then shifted towards Spike, and then back to Giles. Tara then closed her eyes, "forgive me. I… I didn't want to… to tell you Giles."

"Tell me what?"

"Yeah, tell him what? Blondie, what's going on here?"

Tara opened her eyes and stared at Giles, and then at Spike. She looked back down at the floor and whispered, "I… I don't know if you'll hate me for telling you or… or for not telling you. I guess, I should have… I mean I hope they wouldn't be… or maybe I was hoping that…"

"Tara," Giles gently said placing a hand on her shoulder, "start from the beginning. What's happened? And what does it have to do with Dawn?"

"Is she in danger?" Spike growled at Tara who looked back up at him.

"I.. I never thought they would…" Tara shook her head before turning to Giles, "about two weeks ago, Willow had an… an idea to bring Buffy back from the dead."

"Excuse me?" Giles asked, his voice laced with disbelief as he thought, 'don't tell me that… no, let Tara speak first.'. Tara felt his emotions rushing out of him like waves as he spoke, "what do you mean an idea to bring Buffy back?"

"Buffy's dead," Spike said, "her soul is…"

"Willow said that her death was a mystical one and… and she could be brought back by mystical means," Tara spoke in a soft voice, "I… I had a fight with Willow… she wanted to use a powerful spell too…" Tara looked up at Giles who was rubbing his forehead.

"Dear Lord," he whispered leaning back on his seat, his hand slipping off Tara's shoulder, and his eyes wide open staring at Tara. The young woman's eyes then shifted to Spike who rolled his hands into fists. She could feel his anger before she turned her focus back to Giles.

"Willow, Xander, and Anya believed that Buffy was in Hell… they believed she was being tortured and… and I thought she may be in Hell too," Tara admitted, "but… but I also believed that… that because of everything she did to save the world, that she could be in Heaven. And… and doing what Willow wanted to do would mean ripping her out of heaven and…" Tara's voice then cracked as Giles shook his head and stood up in anger. Tara looked up as he walked away, he took two steps past Spike who was still staring at Tara who, while tears fell down her cheeks, said, "and I didn't want to rip her out of Heaven. I couldn't handle it if she was taken away from… from Heaven and… and… and I'd…" Tara then looked away and wiped her eyes.

"I couldn't face you, Spike, or anyone else… that's why I… I've been in my room and.. and I know I should have come to you, Giles, and…"

"Then why didn't you?" Giles asked turning around, "Tara… what.. what you're saying is that Willow's playing with forces that she has absolutely no idea… damn it!" Giles slammed the palm of his hand onto the table, causing Tara to jump on her seat as he exclaimed, "you should have come to me immediately, Tara!" Giles then looked away and sat down across from her before speaking in a soft voice tinged with anger, "the primal forces she used… or would be using is…"

"I didn't want you to hate me," Tara whispered as Giles' expression softened slightly, "I told Willow that Buffy died protecting us all, and it wasn't right bringing her back. But… if Dawn…"

"What does this have to do with Dawn?" Spike asked, still in disbelief.

"Willow said that the spell needs three people," Tara revealed, "after she mentioned what she wanted to do, I got out of the house. I didn't want to be a part of it… but… but I never asked if she meant three people including the caster or three people in addition to the caster. And if…. If Dawn is missing the night that…"

"It's happening tonight?" Giles asked.

"I felt it happen," Tara whispered, her eyes flicking to a stunned Spike, "I…"

Spike rushed at Tara faster than Giles could react. Tara felt Spike's anger as he grabbed her by the arms, picked her up off her seat, and them rushed towards the shelves of book behind her. She felt him push her back against the shelves as Giles got up off his chair and yelled out for Spike to put her down.

"You should have told us!" Spike yelled out as Giles pulled him back after he released Tara, "you should have told us and.. and I would have…. I would have supported you!" Spike then yelled out in pain as he grabbed his head after the pain-chip activated. He turned away and shook his head while Giles rushed to the weeping Tara who was cowering against the shelves behind her. Giles gently and reassured held her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug while Spike turned and yelled out as tears welled in his eyes, "I know what it's like to come back from the dead! She could… could have come out wrong!"

"Spike!" Giles hissed.

Spike turned and stared at the crying Tara, and then he looked back at the shelf he pushed her into, and then back down to his shaking hands. He recalled what he did, and closed his eyes while shaking his head.

"Sorry about pushing you," Spike mumbled. He was still angry at Tara, he was angry at Willow, at Xander, and at Anya. And then he thought about Dawn, and wondered what the hell the four of them had made her do.

"We should go to her grave, and…"

"Yea," Spike said before he glanced at Tara, before feeling an upswell of anger. Shaking his head, Spike then rushed out towards the front door before he said anything that he may regret later on. A part of Spike agreed with Tara, but it was the fact that she hid it from him that had him angry, together with the fact that Dawn was somehow involved in such a dangerous spell. One that he knew could go very wrong, "we'll take your car. I'll be outside."

The front entrance closing shut, Tara wiped her eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry, Giles. But.. but I didn't know if you would… hate me since I didn't agree with Willow trying to bring Buffy back." She then looked up in Giles' soft eyes, "but… maybe Dawn's got out with friends or…"

"I doubt it," Giles said shaking his head in reference to Dawn going out with friends, he too had an inkling of the spell that Willow may be using to bring Buffy back, "but Tara, I want Buffy back. I wish she was here alive. But not like this… this goes against every law of nature… of life and death." Giles then breathed in and slowly exhaled before saying, "you should have trusted me with this."

Tara looked into the disappointment in his eyes and knew in her heart that it would take a long time to rebuild that trust.

"If Willow's performed the spell already, then my trust in her…"

"I felt the spell work, Mr. Giles," Tara said as Giles shook his head before breathing out a sigh of exasperation, "Willow made it work."

"Then we'll have to check Buffy's gravesite," Giles said, his voice echoing the disappointment he was now feeling in the people around him, "if the spell worked, then she'll be there." Tara nodded her head before following Giles out of the Magic Box. In her mind, she was wondering what would happen next as she exited the door with Giles behind her. She looked away from the angry Spike, who looked away from her while Giles locked the door. He then turned and stared at the two people before him and shook his head.

"We'll all talk about this later," Giles gently said patting Tara on her shoulder, "but for right now, our main priorities are to make sure that Dawn is alright, and that Buffy… if the spell was successful… is the Buffy that we know."

"Let's just hope that she didn't come back wrong," Spike said as he stared at Tara before shaking his head, "you should have told us, Tara. If you didn't support what Willow was doing, then you should have told us."

"I…"

Giles then chose to intervene, without telling Tara that Spike was right. but at the same time, he understood Tara's fear. Buffy was his Slayer; he was her father figure, and her fear of how he would react to her not wanting to reveal her opposition to Buffy's return was understandable given her own history with her twisted family. "Tara had her reasons, Spike. What's done is done, now we make sure that Buffy and Dawn are alright."

Spike nodded his head before turning away from Tara who was looking down at the floor. Giles patted her back again and sighed, "come on, Tara. Let's go make sure they're all alright." The group then headed for Giles' BMW before heading off to Buffy's gravesite.

TBC.


	4. Chapter 4

**Edited:** 5/3/19

 **Buffy's gravesite, twenty minutes earlier.**

The ground beneath them had been quaking as Anya, Dawn, and Xander stood next to Willow who had her arms hanging by her side, her hands rolled into fists. She was whispering a spell under her breath, her heart racing at the thought of her best friend suffocating to death only minutes after she was hopefully resurrected.

"Will," Xander whispered as he looked at the ground in front of the headstone, "it's now or never."

Willow took in a deep breath before pulling her arms forward as her voice decreased in tone and pitch. Her was deep now as the ground above the coffin began to crack, sail and grass being kicked u into the air from even more cracks forming in the soil.

"Thumm Thumm," more cracks formed, soil and dirt being kicked out from between the cracks before Willow ordered everyone to take several steps back. As they were rushing back, the ground was instead pushed back by a violent explosion that ejected dirt and soil out of the grave and into the air. Xander rushed towards the girls after he fell to the ground, and quickly rolled over the stunned Dawn while grabbing the confused Anya and Willow. His back to the dirt debris as they fell to the ground – specifically onto his back and parts of Willow and Anya.. the both of whom were huddled together with their arms around Xander.

The young man was grumbling out "ouch" and "damn" and "that's going to hurt" as the majority of the debris fell on him. Once the falling debris was finished, everyone rolled off, with sitting up panting while saying she couldn't breathe.

"You'll get over it," chuckled Xander as the four of them got up to their feet and inched their way towards the hole in the ground. Xander frowned when there was another layer of soil on the bottom before he looked over at Willow, "Will?"

"Forget what the spell was," she anxiously yelled out, her arms motioning into the hole where the grave used to be, "there should only be a few inches of soil left. We need to dig…"

"Thud."

Everyone stopped talking.

"Thud!"

Everyone turned to stare into the hole.

"Thud!"

Everyone looked at each other. They knew what was happening before even saying it out loud. The sound was coming from the grave, from the coffin that contained the now, possibly, living body of their friend. The sound meant that Buffy was alive.

"Is it just me, or is anyone feeling a zombie vibe?" Xander joked before chuckling o himself as the girls looked at him. Sensing he was being watched, Xander turned to each of the girls on either side before saying, "it was a joke. Kinda. Sorta."

"Thud!"

She was alive. Dawn, gleefully screamed and then got into the hole. Once she did, she went on her knees to use her hands to scoop the soil to one side.

"Buffy!" she yelled out loud as Xander leapt into the hole while Anya placed her hands over her mouth in disbelief. Willow too was standing next to Anya, her hands clasped together as the first sight of the brown oak coffin could be seen covered in a thin layer of dirt.

"Thud!"

The wood vibrated, the dirt falling off the surface and onto the rest of the dirt that made up the ground around the coffin.

"Thud!"

"Buffy!" Xander yelled out as he continued to scoop out the dirt by hand, "hold on, hold…"

"Thud… Scrash!"

Dawn and Xander fell back, as did Willow and Anya jump back, both of whom were standing on the surface as a bloodied hand punched through the coffin where Dawn had been scooping away dirt. The younger Summers sister then rushed forward, "Buffy!" and grabbed the arm, and then she wrapped her fingers around the hand which was trembling, "Buffy!" Dawn then looked over her shoulder at Xander scrambling up to her while yelling out, "help me!"

Dawn held her hand while Xander frantically starting digging the soil with his hands. It was a second later that Anya leapt into the hole and began digging, he former Vengeance Demon and Xander glancing at each other before the latter yelled out.

"Buffy! Hold on! Hold on!"

 **Buffy's Gravesite, forty minutes later.**

Tara, Giles, and Spike rushed past the bushes and trees to end up at a sight that could feature in any horror movie. The three of them stared in stunned silence at upturned dirt and grass spread all around an empty rectangular shaped hole in the ground. The three of them edged closer and looked down into the hole to find the upper part of the coffin, which had a hole through the cover, open and the coffin itself was empty.

"Oh dear Lord," Giles whispered as he took a step back while Spike shook his head and turned around. He then strode off while bellowing over his shoulder, "those idiots probably took her home!" The Vampire was already through the line of trees just as Tara and Giles glanced at each other before turning around and running as far as they could to Giles' BMW.

Tara hopped in to the rear seat while Spike slammed the door to the passenger side. Tara released the breath she had been holding as she leaned back again the rear seat. She couldn't get the image of the empty grave out of her mind and wondered if Buffy was alright. She was looking out the window as Giles closed the door to the driver side before starting the engine.

Taking a deep breath as the car reversed and then accelerated forward, Tara turned her head towards the rear-view mirror where her eyes locked with those of Giles.

"I have no doubt that they succeeded," Giles whispered as his eyes went back to looking out the windscreen, "if Buffy wasn't… well… Buffy, then we would have an entire different situation on our hands."

"She could still have come out wrong," Spike said as Tara turned her head towards him, as did Giles before looking out the windscreen again. Spike, sensing the quizzical looks he received, went on to explain, "rising from the dead isn't exactly a real 'oh I'm see everything so clearly moment'" Tara chuckled at Spike exaggeration of his own accent as she shimmied up to the middle of the rear seat and leaned forward between the two front seats, "she may not show any changes now, it may come later… as in days later, or weeks, or even months. Fact is, we don't know."

Giles then sighed before nodding his head, "I was thinking along he same lines as well. I'm afraid that something else may have come back with her. And if she was in hell then…"

"A powerful demon coming through with her, that's what we could be looking at," Spike whispered before looking over his left shoulder at Tara. He remembered how he acted back at the Magic Box, and how scared the girl had been when he pushed her into the shelves in anger. Spike turned his head back to looked at the road lit by the headlights of the car and the street lights before looking back over his shoulder.

He saw Tara glanced at him for a second before looking away with regret etched on her faces.

"I don't like things hidden from me, pet," Spike calmly said to Tara before the latter turned her head towards him, "I think I've done enough for you lot for there to be some trust."

Tara nodded her head before whispering, "sorry."

"And I'm sorry too about scaring you back there," Spike looked back to the front, "yeah… that's it."

Tara chuckled before she turned towards Giles, "Mr. Giles, do you think we'll ever know where Buffy was pulled from?"

"Unless we ask her?" Giles said, "we won't know. And if this is the Buffy that we know… the one who cares about her friends and would not want to hurt them, then she would say she was pulled away from hell." Giles glanced at the rear-view mirror to look at Tara while Spike turned his head towards Giles, "she'll never tell us if she was pulled out of heaven. She'll know it would hurt Willow too much."

"Basically we won't get the truth then," Spike said as Tara looked down and leaned back on her the seat.

"I warned her," Tara whispered shaking her head before looking out the window before clarifying that she warned Willow, and then Tara continued, "I should have done more… I.. I made a mistake in not coming to either of you and…" Tara looked back down at her feet, "Buffy…"

"We'll have to make do," Giles said shaking his head, "as much as I am glad that Buffy is alive, we need to watch her closely. We need to ensure that the Buffy who returned is the Buffy we know…"

"And if she isn't," Spike asked looking at Giles.

"I honestly have no answer for that." The three of them drove on in silence as various thoughts went through their mind. Giles hoped that Buffy was the one he and the other Scoobies knew, but he also knew that he needed to have a talk to Willow about what she did was irresponsible and playing with forces that could have very well gone out of control. He knew he would later have to stress the need to use magic responsibly. He glanced at the rear-view mirror again and saw Tara looking out the window before he turned his eye back towards the front.

While Giles drove, Spike was staring out the windscreen at the thought that the girl he had, rather still has, a crush on was alive. But he also knew that people coming from the dead may not be the person they once were in life.

'Look at me,' Spike thought with his lips pressed together.

As for Tara, she really didn't know what to think. Seeing the empty grave was enough to make her wonder how different the Willow she now knew was, when compared to the Willow she had first met years ago.

'the old Willow would have listened,' Tara thought to herself, 'she would have least considered my opinion but… but the empty grave. Seeing that grave… she brought her back to life. And… and we don't know if it was the right thing. Oh goddess, what if… what if…' A thought entered Tara's mind, a thought that she needed to put to words.

"Will Buffy coming back to life do anything to the magic that gives a Slayer her powers?"

"What do you mean?" Giles asked, however, he didn't want to mention that he had been having thoughts about how Buffy's return could affect the Slayer line. But until now, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind; seeing Buffy again and his thoughts on what he should tell Willow occupied his mind.

Spike too looked over his shoulder at Tara with a look on his face that silently said, "out with it."

"Buffy died a mystical death," Tara said, and the two men nodded their heads, "I mean her death may not have affected the magic surrounding the Slayer so much because.. well.."

"She died," Giles finished Tara's sentence before noting the latter nodded her head.

"Since she was mystically brought back, that would mean that the magic that gave her powers has also come back, right?"

"Uh huh," Spike said nodding his head.

Giles nodded as well while saying, "theoretically, yes. However, there's never been a situation like this, Tara, so I cannot say one way or the other what may happen."

"Let's say that the magic making her a Slayer also came back," Spike jumped in, "that's good."

"What if the Slayer line is like a still pond?" Tara said as she leaned back, "I've been thinking about this for a while now, but I never thought Willow would succeed so…" Tara shook her head, "what if the Slayer line is like a still pond."

"You said that already."

Giles glare at Spike before gently telling Tara to continue.

"When a Slayer dies, there is a ripple in the pond… a very small ripple… which represents the transfer of power from one Slayer to another," Tara said as Giles nodded his head and Spike simply looked over his shoulder at her, "and she already died once. She was brought back to life and… and maybe that caused a larger ripple because she was brought back with the magic that gives her those powers."

"Okay."

"But there wasn't anything unusual after Buffy was brought back to life the first time," Giles said, "yes, she did die. But that was for a few minutes before she was given CPR."

"I wouldn't say there was anything unusual," Spike added, "there were two Slayers."

"Was there anything unusual that happened?" Tara asked. She wasn't in Sunnydale when the Master was temporarily resurrected before Buffy killed him. She thought that Buffy's soul and the magic returning to her body may have caused a huge ripple in the Salyer line; enough for there to have been a sign that something was wrong. Something that could prepare them for any problems that come their way through this new resurrection of the Blonde Slayer.

Spike shrugged before saying that he wasn't in Sunnydale when that happened, "I was on the way there though."

However, Giles clearly remembered the aftermath of Buffy's battle against the Master. He told Tara of how traumatised Buffy was when she returned from her Sumer break, how she was taking too many risks without thought of the consequences, how she regained her sense of self after she saved the lives of himself and the Scoobies before pounding the skeleton of the Master into dust. He said that with the destruction of the skeleton, Buffy had come to accept that she had died, and now had a new life ahead of her after being resurrected.

"There wasn't anything else unusual," Giles shook his head. He wondered how Buffy would be feeling now since she had been dead for months, her body probably stated to decay before her soul and the Slayer magic was pushed back into her body, 'but if I follow Tara's pond analogy, what kind of a ripple would that have on the Slayer line. What would be the consequences?'

"Are you sure there was nothing unusual?" Tara asked again as the neared Buffy's neighbourhood.

Giles shook his head unable to think of anything unusual, "not that I can remember. But then again, I'm thinking about Buffy being alive, so I may not be thinking clearly on anything else. And…" Giles tried to think of anything unusual that happened, "well, there was that thing with Angel, Jenny's death, and then Angel's re-ensoulment and being sent to Acathla's hell. That's about all the unusual things that happened that year."

"And I made my grand entrance then," Spike said as they neared the Summers home.

"So nothing that unusual happened other than… well… the regular type of unusual," Tara whispered as Giles drove the car up the driveway behind Xander's car and stopped. The three of the stared at the house for a few seconds before Giles and Tara released the breath they were holding. There would be time to discuss what could happen as a result of Buffy's resurrection, for now though, they opened the doors to get out of the car. Once they were out, the three walked in silence towards the front door.

As they walked up to the front porch, no one noticed the blonde in blue jeans and a cream blouse standing on the other side of the road staring at the three with a smirk. The blonde, who if anyone could see her, looked just like Buffy as she crossed her arms over her chest while the three knocked on the front door of the Summers door.

"Well then," the Buffy-look alike said, "let the games begin."

TBC.


End file.
